Impact of garlic supplementation and Residual Feed Intake profile on the occurrence of liver abscesses in feedlots

Feed efficient finishing cattle with none or less severe cases of liver abscesses (LA) will improve the competitiveness and sustainability of the beef industry. The antimicrobial properties of garlic have not been evaluated towards mitigating the severity of LA. Studies evaluating the association between feed efficiency and LA and the integration of emerging feeding strategies such as garlic supplementation are sparse. This project will evaluate the relationship between garlic supplementation strategies and residual feed intake (RFI) profiles on the severity of LA in finishing cattle. The project will recruit approximately 200 feedlot steers for the 2-yr project where each steer will be assigned to 1 of 4 garlic-supplementation groups. Individual feed and supplement intake will be measured while the RFI profile of each steer will be calculated. The finished steers will be harvested at an approved facility where LA scores will be collected by an expert assessor. This project will determine the associations between performance and LA scores.

Faculty Supervisor:

Obioha Durunna;Bart Lardner

Student:

Iris Ho In Cheang;Oluwatobi Oyedeji

Partner:

Feedlot Health Management Services

Discipline:

Animal science

Sector:

Agriculture

University:

Program: